The Alma Mater statue beloved by University of Illinois students and graduates has been back on campus almost two months but the university plans to officially mark her return and her 85th birthday with a party Friday morning.

We were alarmed to learn yesterday that hurricanes with female names are not being taken as seriously as their male counterparts. It seems people in the path of a hurricane are more likely to heed warnings to take shelter or evacuate if the storm is named Charley than if the storm is named Eloise. Which can be a deadly decision. [Because, seriously: Hurricanes are dangerous — even if they have "lady" names. If authorities tell you to take shelter or evacuate, do it. Right away.]

Champaign’s Market Place Mall closes at 9 PM. But on Tuesday, June 3rd, it reopens at 10 --- not for the public, but for a police training exercise that is expected to last until 5 AM Wednesday morning.

President Obama today [Tuesday] defended the deal under which Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was freed in exchange for high-level Taliban prisoners, saying his administration had consulted with Congress over a possible trade. And, he dismissed questions about how Bergdahl was captured by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan in June 2009.

Right now, America's schools are in a sprint. Forty-four states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core Standards. That means new learning benchmarks for millions of kids from kindergarten through high school. And, for many of them, the Core will feel tougher than what they're used to. Because it is tougher.